Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent.
Parallel translations
- WEB He drank of the wine and got drunk. He was uncovered within his tent.
- KJV And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
- BSB But when he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent.
- NASB He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent.
- NLT One day he drank some wine he had made, and he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Noah drank the wine, became drunk, and lay uncovered in his tent. Even this righteous man falls into sin and shame.
Overview
Noah's drunkenness and exposure show that the flood did not cleanse the human heart; sin persists even in the godly. The scene is reported plainly, without excusing it, as a sober warning. It underscores the need for a righteousness greater than Noah's, found only in Christ, who never failed and who covers our shame.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 20:1Wine is a mocker, and beer is a brawler. Whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
- Hab 2:15–16“Woe to him who gives his neighbor drink, pouring your inflaming wine until they are drunk, so that you may gaze at their naked bodies!
- Prov 23:31–32Don’t look at the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly.
- Gal 5:21envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom.
- Titus 2:2that older men should be temperate, sensible, sober minded, sound in faith, in love, and in perseverance:
- Rom 13:13Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy.
- Gen 19:32–36Come, let’s make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve our father’s family line.”
- Eccl 7:20Surely there is not a righteous man on earth, who does good and doesn’t sin.
- Gen 6:9This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God.
- 1 Cor 10:12Therefore let him who thinks he stands be careful that he doesn’t fall.
- Luke 22:3–4Satan entered into Judas, who was also called Iscariot, who was counted with the twelve.
- Rev 3:18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich; and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 9:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.